Ice Princess
by Shattered Blossoms
Summary: Two innocent kids awakened by life's cruelty. Now that their older, hate found its way to their hearts. How come they let theirselves fall deeper? How come they let revenge be a hindrance to what they truly feel? SS, bit of ET... Review!
1. The Tragedy

Ice Princess

Disclaimer: Nope. CCS is not mine… never did… and never would be… sad to say.

* * *

A melodic voice was clearly heard in one of the small yet beautiful places in Tomoeda. It came from a girl about thirteen to fifteen years old. She had a pair of dazzling emerald eyes showing pure innocence and cheerfulness and silky long auburn hair reflecting the sun's rays.

_There's a song that's inside of my soul  
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again  
I'm awake in the infinite cold  
But you sing to me over and over again_

_So I lay my head back down  
and I lift my hands and pray  
to be only yours  
I pray to be only yours  
I know now you're my only hope_

Sadly an old peasant interrupted her singing. "A girl as fragile as a glass, holding such oblivion in reality, would soon open her eyes and know that everything she held is all part of a shaggy memory. Soon she would see what the truth is and in the process of standing up, a boy would appear in her life." he said to no one in particular. The girl shrugged and continued singing.

When she was about to walk off and go back home, the old peasant blocked her from nowhere. "For sure she would experience such difficulties for the ones who were given more are the ones who are expected more from. She would surpass every single difficulty but she would deny something. But my child, no one can escape fate's plan. No matter what she will do fate would not bend to her will. The one who grew up doing nothing but what the others told and the one who would be exposed to the cruelness of this world would meet. Stone would meet rock and in reaction, they would both soften up." he said.

"Wha-" again, the girl was interrupted. This time the wind was the one responsible for it. She shut her eyes and tried to block the wind from touching her eyes with her hands.

In exact one second, the wind died down. She opened her eyes to see nothing or rather no one. The man who had said nonsense had disappeared without a trace. She should've at least heard a noise when he disappeared. She dismissed all of her thoughts of it and just shrugged. Why the heck should she believe in some craziness like that?

She tightened her hold on the groceries she was assigned to buy and continued singing. She headed to the Kinomoto residence with the birds following and chirping, blending with the song.

_I give you my destiny  
I'm giving you all of me  
I want your symphony  
Singing in all that I am  
At the top of my lungs  
I'm giving it back_

Such innocent and talented young girl… oblivious to the cruel reality and still with a shell… that was about to open. Everyone looked at her with tiny smiles on their faces except for the old man standing grimly at the dark corner of the street.

- i – c – e - - p – r – i – n – c – e – s – s -

"Tadaima!" the teenaged girl cheerfully shouted, expecting her brother's voice saying "Kaijuu, did you do monster stuffs? Why did you took so long to go home?". she was pissed off at those words just a year ago but now she found out that the only reason her brother says those lines over and over again is because he wanted to know if something bad had happened without crashing his ego.

"Hoe?" she said while slightly tilting her head to the right side. She already had put off her roller blades and wore her comfortable slippers but she never heard any noise. Did her father, mother and brother go somewhere? Why didn't they tell her? Oh well… She shrugged and just tried to be optimistic.

She cannot let her feelings affect her. She isn't even sure if she's just imagining that something wrong is going to happen. That man really scared her. It's as if he knows something that she doesn't. Sigh! She shouldn't think those things.

Taking a deep breath, she headed to the kitchen. But she didn't reach her destination. Her fear stopped her from going anywhere. She saw red liquid dropping from something up at the ceiling. She shut her eyes tight and forced herself not to scream.

Without opening her eyes she ran at the opposite direction and stopped after she made sure she wouldn't see it. She reached for the telephone and dialed. For fifteen minutes the one she was talking with tried to ease her fear and somehow worked and for another fifteen minutes she sat there, rocking back and forth, trying to comfort herself.

A warm hand softly stopped her. She opened her eyes filled with fear and pain be assured by s bright smile of a guy with bluish hair and sapphire orbs. She sadly smiled. She never did imagine that after all she had done wrong to him; he would be the only one who would comfort her.

He hugged her and asked "Is it okay for you if we check your kitchen or I'd be the one to check?".

"Iie. I would go with you. But please promise that you won't leave me." she said, emerald pools staring back at a pair of sapphire orbs. She looked like a lost child looking for her parents.

He smiled. He was still the Sakura Kinomoto that he once knew. He was right. She was still there under someone who was hungry of fame and power… who was cruel and doesn't have a heart… who was the one who left him because he was a geek and she was a popular.

"Pinky promise!" he said, looking like an excited child. He lifted her pinkie and connected it with hers.

She plastered a sad smile and with a deep breath headed to the kitchen, squeezing the living daylights out of Eriol. Poor Eriol knew that his blood circulation was being stopped but then he knew she needs it and just plastered an encouraging smile at her.

For the second time that day, she saw blood coming from the ceiling. She shut her eyes tight and traced where it came from. It seemed like slow motion… higher and higher… bit by bit… and finally she saw her beautiful and kind mother hanging with a rope on her neck. It seemed like some kind of suicide… but somehow she felt that it wasn't.

She stared at her idol looking so messed up. The long silky grayish hair of hers was messy and blood coming from her wrist stained its ends. She would never do this! She was such a darling to even think of it…

A squeeze coming from her side made her come out from her thoughts and notice salty liquid coming from her blurry eyes. "Sakura-chan, there is something your okaa-san is holding… Would you like me to get it?" he said in a soft voice.

She shook her head and released her hand from his grasp. While walking to her mother's cold body, she saw her brother and father also hanging not too far from them. _This is just a dream… The sooner I finish what I'm supposed to do, the sooner I'm going to wake up. _But she knew the truth… She shakily took the piece of paper with blood stains from her mother's hands. She opened it and read

_Sakura, my baby,_

_Remember always that although I am not physically there with you, my soul will always guide you. And you must not forget the things we have thought you. Sometimes fate is cruel but one wouldn't be in a situation that he/she cannot handle. Strive for your dreams even though others keep on pushing you to the ground!_

_Love,_

_Okaa-san, Otou-san and Onii-chan_

"Why did they say those insensible words?" she whispered, a tear descending from pained emerald orbs. A hand then softly contacted with her shoulder.

"This is just a trick, isn't it?" she asked a silent Eriol. They were just fooling around once in a while, right? There's nothing wrong with that and soon she would laugh her ass off. But why are they taking so long to say it's just a trick?

He hugged her and let her cry on his shoulder.

She cried her eyes out. Her family… they couldn't leave her. They knew she couldn't survive life without them. They can't die… She did everything for them… and they still need to be proud of her. Her brother still need to tease her… Her mother still need to give her long boring talks… Her father still needs to remind her of all the boring things existing on earth.

They still need to see all the things she achieved for them…

_Liar! _a voice said.

'What do you mean! I'm not a liar! I really did it for-'

_Yourself _the voice finished what she was really about to say. _You lied and you must admit it. If you really did everything for them then why did you just left your brother to fight the gang that was after you?_

'I left him because it was his responsibility to protect me. And besides I really was half-hearted when I left him to be beaten up.'

_Okay, maybe you were right when you said you were half-hearted. But there are still many situations to prove that you don't really value them that much. Your father… he hadn't slept and eat for two days because you stayed in your friend's house. You said you wanted to teach them and it was a part of it._

'Well it was already a year ago and I already said sorry… You know and I know that I meant it.'

_Well then you haven't said sorry to your mother yet… You shouted back at her when she just wanted to protect you… You knew she was right… but instead you covered your ears and made a face…_

Oh just shut up… Can't you be satisfied by what I am going through now!

… _sometimes it's too late to realize that the ones you love the most are the ones you haven't cherished …_

* * *

Is my first chappie too short? too much tragedy? Wah! I killed Sakura's mom, dad and ol' bro… I feel so cruel… but it's for her to become cold and for the drama… hehe… to tell ya readers (if there is) I still plan to give her so much… 


	2. The Boss

Ice Princess

Disclaimer: Nope. CCS is not mine… never did… and never would be… sad to say.

* * *

The policemen already have arrived. They asked Sakura questions but Eriol was the one who answered them. She was still in shock… she lost her family, the ones she didn't cherish but love the most… they left her physically… and though she knew they would still be beside her, they can never do the things they did to her before.

When all the police left, accepting Eriol's words that Sakura would stay with one of her family members, silence began to envelop the two. It was only broken after a full minute. "Hey, would you like to stay at our house? My parents really liked you and I'm sure they would be more than glad to help you in anyway, especially now." Eriol told her, kindness evident in his actions.

"Iie, it's alright." she said and received another look from her best friend. "Oh would you look at the time. It's getting late. Your parents might be looking for you." she said, avoiding his eyes and feigning to check the time.

"Sakura…" he pressed. "I knew you since we wore diapers and I have memorized your actions when your feeling something. I know whenever you are trying to do something and I know that you are just trying to cover up. I'm your friend. I would be there whenever you need me. Just tell me what I can do and I'll do my best, okay?" he said and hugged her tight, reassuring her that even if the end of the world would occur, he would still be standing right beside her.

"Thanks, Eriol. I really don't deserve this friendship… If only one can turn back the time I would have done that the moment I realized my mistake. I apologize for what I did and please don't be that good to me. It only makes me be bugged by my conscience." she said while placing her head on her best friend's chest, seeking comfort.

"Anyway, since you rejected my offer of you staying in our house then how would you be able to survive alone? Your food, your tuition and the other necessities… I know you can't afford that alone. You don't even have a job." he said as a matter of fact.

Her body left the comfort that he was giving and cheerfully said "Well then what are we waiting for?". She dragged him gleefully to only-she-knows-where.

"Where are we going?" he asked with a smile. She was trying to be back to her old self and is not letting what happened to be a hindrance. What an amazing young girl… Too bad he is only a friend to her. The best she may think but not as special as the one he wishes to be.

"Didn't you just say that I need a job? Well then I would look for one before it would be dark. The nearest would be a small branch of the most famous company these days. Maybe they could give me a job there. Even though the salary's not that good, it's alright. I just need the enough salary to pay for my food and other necessities. Good thing I don't need to worry about tuition fee. I'll just have to maintain being a scholar." she said and then stopped in front of a small branch of a well-known company.

_next_ _day, job interview…_

"You could enter the room now. Mr. Li is already inside waiting for you." a lady with ebony hair and amber orbs said to Sakura. She was more or less twenty five years old, if you judge it by her looks.

"Arigatou." Sakura bowed to the lady and entered the said room to see the guy she surely wasn't pleased or disgusted to see- Syaoran Li. He was supposed to be the most popular one in the campus but she unintentionally had done something to embarrass him. Since then he was 'the chosen one' to be laughed at. Not the exact same thing that happened to Eriol but almost.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Kinomoto-san." he said, saying her name like it was shit. "What brings you here? Oh, I remembered." he said acting happy to remember the reason. "Your life can be classified to those who were really high but then landed rough. I heard that your family was murdered. Tsk tsk tsk. Now you need to work to survive, ne? Now you would experience what your family did to mine." he said.

_Did he lost his mind or what!_, she thought. Confused as ever, she asked "What do you mean?".

He laughed but it wasn't what he felt. Maybe she was right when she thought that he's gone crazy… Nah! "Now don't give me that I-am-innocent look. I won't fall for that. I am not a child unlike before… when your parents legally adopted me and raised me as nothing but a servant… when your parents fed me up with lies. Just a month ago did I realize that your family is the one behind my parents' death. If it weren't for you, bitch, and your bullshit family, we would still be having a satisfied life." he said, almost letting his amber orbs show his soft side… almost. He will never let that vulnerable and weak side of his surface again.

"What the hell! My family didn't do such a thing! You, traitor! After all my parents' did for you, you still accused them of such horrible thing. You know that your family died because of a car accident. a-c-c-i-d-e-n-t. You know what that means!" she said, outraged. How could he have accused the one that took care of him for about five years?

For a moment, he was about to let his feeling arise. Of course, he wouldn't allow himself let anger turn his plans into void. She would need to have patience. She would receive her 'prize' sooner or later but not now.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're here to apply for a job, ne? So let's be professionals and talk about business, not our personal lives." he said, collected her application papers and fixed a look on her.

Sakura gulped. This is not what she expected. This is too far making her nervous. "Since we already know each other, I will just ask you a single question. Why do you think I should accept you?" she heard him say. Gosh, his look really can be compared to a wolf glaring at its prey- her.

All of what they talked about went at the back of her head and was replaced by continuous 'Oh, my gosh!'. "I know that I'm one of the right ones to work here because I assure you that I'll be devoted. Besides, you know I know a lot about computers. Who knows? Maybe I can somehow help." well there goes her not-so-intelligent answer. It was like as if she's talking to her classmate, not her boss.

He furrowed his eyebrows and said "Well you sure want to answer me simply, ne? And don't give me that tone. I am not your friend anymore. I hoped you already found that out when you entered this room.".

"Yes, sir." she said, somewhat sadly. Would you be able to blame her? He was once her closest friend who always lend her a shoulder to cry on… the one who always save her from all those bullies. Who thought it would just end up like this? As if they were two strangers crossing ach others' paths because of pure coincidence…

"Alright, you can start tomorrow. Be sure not to be late." he said and caused her to have a scene of the past.

"_Tomorrow would be an important day. The stars would have my name engraved to it… 'Li Syaoran. The winner of the sports championship… kid's division.' " a cute little Syaoran said to an intently listening Sakura._

That's what his dreams were before. So simple yet a big deal to him… He said he hate to work for an international company. He said that he wants a simple life… like those middle class families. He doesn't want any title other than being in people's hearts. He wants to help them and hates those who steps on poor people's lives. So why did he change his mind now? When she most needed his presence and comfort…

"_I want you to be there, watching for me. I want you to see me win." he said._

"_There's your ego again. Are you sure you're going to win?" she said, not because she doesn't trust him but because she wants to tease him._

"_Well then let me prove to you what Li Syaoran can do. **Be sure not to be late**. I know you're such a sleepy head but still try to wake up early, kaijuu." he said and left a fuming Sakura._

That day was just before everything changed. Oh how she missed it. If that would repeat again, her anger would turn into gladness. It only meant that this is just a nightmare… she would still be happy with her friends- Syaoran, with him still thinking of her as his sister and Eriol, without her conscience bugging her… and her family would still be able to make her smile somehow.

"What the hell, Kinomoto-san! Are you going to just stand there and go to dreamland!" a harsh voice revived her back from fantasy, the past. "Get your lazy ass off this office now! Before I fire you without you even starting." what a good threat. With that, Sakura immediately headed to the door, almost tripping.

She immediately shut the door. After catching her breath, she saw Eriol standing there, giving her a did-you-see-a-ghost look. How she wished she just aw a ghost other than that- that monster. Although she was terribly afraid of the supernatural creatures, she would still rather choose it.

"Are you alright?" what a good question to ask… Is he blind or what!

"Eriol, you didn't tell me that Syao- I mean Li-sama was the owner of this company!" she said, eyes having its own flame. Poor Eriol… the blame was on him again.

"Ehehehe" he let out a nervous laugh as he waved a small white flag. "Well, I hoped you would somehow apologize and he would forgive you. Voila! Our friendships' would now be saved." he said.

Fortunately for him, she let it go and just sighed. "Thanks to you, hell will surface tomorrow." she said.

_hell, Sakura's first day as an employee…_

Tick Tock Tick tock… Beep Beep Beep Beep!

Sakura emerged from her pink comforter without her deafening 'hoe'. She got to change her habits now, especially since her family wouldn't be able to guide her physically.

With one last stretch, she reached for her slippers and headed to her room's bath room for a quick shower. She did the usual- blow dry her hair, tie it in a firm pony tail and headed downstairs.

She sighed. She needs to get use to this. Today, she would starve or just eat instant noodles. She chose the latter. Breakfast is the most important meal. She couldn't risk missing it.

Though she only spent 5 minutes at most on every thing that she'll do, she still was late. The alarm clock didn't do its right job. It rang an hour after she set it. Oooh! If she can only get her hands on it at this moment, that thing will not see the daylight ever again.

But for now, her attention is on arriving at her working place as soon as possible.

Panting, she arrived at her destination only to see the half smirking and half angry face of her boss. Her eyebrow arched subconsciously. Usually, if that's his facial expression it only means he's going to tease her. But she thought he's angry at her…

"I thought I strictly ordered you to come here on time. Look at the time! You're an hour and a half late! I think I have to give you a punishment. Maybe you would learn of your mistake." that was the answer to her question. Maybe there really is no chance to regain their friendship… she just hope that she's wrong. gulp!

… _what goes around comes around. what goes up must come down …  
_from Alicia Keys' song… 'Karma'.

* * *

Please! A review wouldn't be that bad… I want to know if there's still a reason to continue this story.

**Just like the creature with pure wings  
Standing up from all the difficult things  
Soaring from the Bottom  
Lies a **_Shattered Blossom…_

ja ne! )


End file.
